Chengdu is one of the events that take place near the Laver Cup on the calendar. The men’s event founded by Roger” federer> starts on September 20 and ends on September 22, while the Chinese event starts on 23. The tournament director Luiz Carvalho spoke about the difficulties in bringing top players.

“It’s a new event, supported by the ATP, featuring top guys not just because of the big money but also the prestige that was built in the last two years. It’s one more event we have to compete against and we have to adapt.

We do not have to cry. We try to go around it. Isner and Shapovalov are playing Laver Cup and they are coming to Chengdu. It’s an easy flight from Geneva to Chengdu.” The defending Chengdu finalist Fabio Fognini will not return this year: “We tried to have him”, admitted Carvalho.

“He had an amazing run last year, he lost to Bernard Tomic after not converting match points. Obviously, with his great results, there are other tournaments trying to sign him and it’s totally understandable he will play the Laver Cup.

He has a different calendar. We still like him.” On Nick Kyrgios, Carvalho added: “He is a controversial player, some people like him, some people do not. He has a strong personality. We thought about Kyrgios, but he plays in Zhuhai.

Chengdu is a very young event, we are on the fourth edition and we cannot get all the players that we want but we are super happy with the lineup. He is good for tennis, when he behaves, he plays very well.”